Transport Committee Improving River Services
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Transport Committee Improving river services – an update report February 2012 Six years ago we highlighted the limited use of the river to transport people. Our report London’s Forgotten Highway (October 2006) set out the main barriers to expanding river services and recommended solutions to increase the number of Londoners using the river to make regular journeys. At present there are river bus services between Blackfriars Millennium Pier and Woolwich Arsenal Pier operated by Thames Clippers and between Putney Pier and Blackfriars Millennium Pier operated by Complete Pleasure Boats. In addition, there are various leisure or river tour services operated by different companies. All river services are overseen by Transport for London (TfL) ’s London River Services (LRS) whose activities include coordinating river services with the wider public transport network and managing eight piers,1 out of a total 33 piers.2 The Mayor has pledged to increase the use of river transport significantly. In early 2010, he committed to work towards a target of 12 million river passenger trips per year3 or more than double the current annual number of trips.4 This followed the publication in April 2009 of the Mayor’s River Concordat, a voluntary agreement between more than 40 organisations to work together to develop river services.5 In his Transport Strategy, the Mayor set out specific proposals to use the Concordat to develop river services and to encourage the provision of more pier capacity particularly in central London.6 In light of our past work and the Mayor’s pledge, we have checked on progress in improving river services. Our check has involved a site visit with Thames Clippers in December 2011 and a public meeting with representatives of the Mayor, TfL, the Port of London Authority (PLA) and Thames Clippers on 17 January 2012. Further details of our work can be found online at: www.london.gov.uk In summary, we have identified some improvements to river services but scope for further action. The Mayor and TfL are unlikely to realise the target of 12 million river passenger trips per year without increasing their activity in this area. The remainder of this update report outlines actions that should be taken in four specific areas as listed below. We are seeking a response from TfL by June 2012. 1. There should be a TfL owned strategic plan for the development of river services. 2. TfL should demonstrate greater commitment to river services. 3. There should be further improvements to piers. 4. There needs to be improved publicity, signage, mapping and ticketing to attract more passengers. 1 LRS’s piers are: Westminster, Festival, Embankment, Millbank, Blackfriars, Bankside, Tower and Greenwich 2 Mayor’s report, By the River, April 2009, p2 3 Agenda item 7, TfL Surface Transport Panel meeting, 3 March 2010, p4 4 The Mayor’s Ambassador for River Transport reported 6 million trips per year at the Transport Committee meeting on 17 January 2012 5 Further details are online at: http://www.london.gov.uk/who-runs-london/mayor/publications/transport-and-streets/river-transport 6 Mayor’s Transport Strategy, May 2010, pp.162-167 2 1. There should be a TfL owned strategic plan for the development of river services The absence of a strategic plan for developing river services has resulted in patchy improvements. There remain gaps in the integration of river services with other public transport such as the cycle hire scheme and bus network. For example, Thames Clippers suggested that TfL could show the piers on its maps of the cycle hire docking stations7 and extend bus routes near Woolwich and Arsenal piers to make it easier for passengers to switch between modes.8 Similarly, there has been only partial recognition of river services in recent riverside redevelopments. Few new piers have been built in recent years apart from the floating pier at St George’s Wharf, Vauxhall.9 Moreover, there are no detailed TfL plans for how river services will be expanded in future. The Mayor’s Ambassador for River Transport told us “we are looking to expand wherever we can” and mentioned the proposal for Plantation Wharf pier at Battersea.10 Thames Clippers has developed various proposals for expansion including a ‘park and glide’ service at Rainham to relieve congestion on the A13 corridor. The Mayor’s River Concordat was expected to deliver a strategic plan for the development of river services. The Concordat was specifically developed in response to an identified need for “clear leadership, a clear strategic plan for the development of the [river services] market, and better co-ordination between the various stakeholders...” 11 The centrepiece of the River Concordat was the Rivers Action Plan but this is not a strategic plan. Instead, the published draft action plan comprised a brief list of eleven actions to be completed over three timescales: actions to 2010, to 2012 and post 2012. There was only one action listed for post 2012: “to build new piers in the east and west.”12 The Mayor’s River Concordat has produced some benefits but there are concerns about the lack of a strategy. The PLA told us that the Concordat had been useful at bringing together the key players to discuss river services regularly.13 The Mayor’s Ambassador for River Transport made a similar point suggesting that the Concordat had not only brought together the key statutory bodies but also relevant private developers and riverside boroughs “who are now working [together] much more closely.”14 Thames Clippers reported that the Concordat had generated some great ideas but not much of its work had come to fruition. Sean Collins, Managing Director of Thames Clippers, expressed concern that there was no strategic plan to guide improvements.15 TfL told us that it does “not have a strategic 10-year plan for the river.”16 A strategic plan would provide the basis for a more even, coherent development of river services. The plan could detail all the current demands on the river, such as for regular passenger transport, tourist services, movement of freight and residential use such as houseboats, and how all these different demands will be managed concurrently. It could set out in detail how river 7 Transcript of Transport Committee meeting on 17 January 2012, p5 8 Transcript of Transport Committee meeting on 17 January 2012, p17 9 BBC web site, New floating pier at Vauxhall, 15 September 2011 10 Transcript of Transport Committee meeting on 17 January 2012, p 4 and 5 11 River Concordat, April 2009, p1 12 River Concordat, April 2009, p3 13 Transcript of Transport Committee meeting on 17 January 2012, p3 14 Transcript of Transport Committee meeting on 17 January 2012, p4 15 Transcript of Transport Committee meeting on 17 January 2012, p5 16 Transcript of Transport Committee meeting on 17 January 2012, p4 3 passenger services will be fully integrated with the wider transport network and expanded in the longer-term. Thames Clippers has suggested that TfL has a critical role to play in such expansion by providing a strategic lead.17 However, TfL has reported that expanding the services is simply a matter for commercial operators who have to judge levels of demand.18 A strategic plan for developing river services would be informed by credible passenger information and modelling of potential passenger demand. During our work, we have received different figures for annual river passenger numbers. For example, TfL reported around 2.6 million river bus passengers in 2010/1119 whereas Thames Clippers reported it had around three million passengers.20 The Mayor’s Ambassador for River Transport reported that there were in total about six million river passenger journeys per year21 but this includes more than two million passengers on the Woolwich ferry which is not a multi-stop transport service but a river crossing. Thames Clippers told us that it had recently invested in a new passenger counting system which will be rolled out to all river boat operators shortly. It argued that TfL should use the information from this new system in modelling potential future demand. Thames Clippers drew a parallel with TfL’s bus strategic planning and modelling work suggesting that if TfL could do similar modelling work for river services it could help develop detailed plans for expansion.22 The Mayor’s River Concordat has brought together the many different organisations involved in river services. This has resulted in some closer working but it has not as yet delivered a strategic plan for the development of river services. The absence of such a plan has resulted in patchy progress in improving river services. The development of a strategic plan could help ensure: river services are fully integrated with other forms of public transport; the greater recognition of river services in all riverside redevelopments; and the formation of detailed proposals for service expansion. Any strategic plan would need to be developed on the basis of credible information on passenger demand and would draw on planning resource within TfL to model demand and potential for future expansion. We recommend that TfL reports back by June 2012 on its progress in developing a strategic plan for the expansion of river services over the next ten years. This strategic plan should set out how all the different uses of the river will be managed and, within this context, how river services will be fully integrated with other public transport and expanded in future. The plan should be based on detailed information about passenger demand developed by TfL. 2. TfL should demonstrate greater commitment to river services How TfL sees its role in relation to river transport has long been an issue of contention.